Wisdom of Solomon 2:2-4

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

² For we were born by mere chance,
and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been,
for the breath in our nostrils is smoke,
and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts;^(A)
3 when it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes,
and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.^(B)
4 Our name will be forgotten in time,
and no one will remember our works;
our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud
and be scattered like mist
that is chased by the rays of the sun
and overcome by its heat.^(C)